The present invention relates to the field of installation of sound isolation modules within a host building, and more particularly to enclosure of the modules.
Acoustic enclosures are used in a variety of applications. In particular, modular acoustic enclosures are used as sound isolation modules to insulate sound generated inside the room from the exterior environment and to insulate the interior of the room from sound generated in the exterior environment. For example, many high schools and music schools provide sound isolation modules for music practice, enabling a plurality of music students, each one in a separate module, to simultaneously play his or her instrument without acoustical interference from music generated in another enclosure or from sound generated in an environment exterior to the sound isolation module.
Each sound isolation module thus forms a separate acoustic enclosure. A plurality of panels, each panel comprising one or more acoustic absorbing materials enclosed by steel or other rigid structure, are assembled to form the enclosure, including a door allowing access thereto. Often, a window is provided to allow one to see inside or outside the module. The modules thus formed are typically placed in a row within a host building, each module having a separate door enabling separate access to each one of them from the exterior environment within the host building.
When the modules are placed in a row, gaps exist between adjacent modules, between the modules and the ceilings of the host building, and between the modules on the ends of the row and the walls of the host building adjacent to the end modules. To cover these gaps and to provide a uniform, or decorative, finished appearance exterior to the modules a covering is employed formed of partitions referred to as closure panels. The closure panels are usually formed of steel, sheetrock, laminated wood products or other suitable material. In addition to providing a finished appearance, provisions for ventilation can be incorporated into the closure panels to allow air to circulate there through to satisfy heating and air conditioning requirements while still maintaining the same outward appearance.
Such an installation provides large acoustically reflective surfaces that cause reverberations in the exterior area within the host building. Sound waves will penetrate the closure panels and reverberate against the panels and windows forming the fronts of the modules and will also penetrate the closure panels and reverberate in the gaps between the modules and between the modules and the walls and ceilings of the host building. This results in undesirable acoustic effects which building managers, acousticians and architects seek to minimize in a variety of ways. One commonly employed solution is to mount sound absorbing panels to the exterior of the closure panels. These sound absorbing panels are frequently covered with fabric to provide a more decorative appearance. Unfortunately, such after-applied solutions add to the cost of the installation and are vulnerable to vandalism.
Thus, there is a need for methods and systems that overcome these and other limitations of the prior art.
The present invention provides methods and systems for installing sound absorbing closure panels for sound isolation module installations that overcome prior art limitations.
According to one aspect of the invention one or more partitions are formed of acoustic absorbing material that provide sound absorbing closure panels to finish the installation of a plurality of sound isolation modules, thus eliminating the need for supplemental application of acoustic absorbing material to the installation.
The present invention provides a method for acoustic closure of an installation of one or more sound isolation modules within a host building encompassing the modules. One or more acoustic absorbing closure panels are mounted to form a partition in front of the modules, thus forming two acoustically separate regions. The absorbing panels are comprised of one or more sound absorbing materials between a front and rear surface. The front surface faces the region exterior to the installation within the host building. The rear surface faces the installation of the sound isolation modules.
The front surface of a closure panel is comprised of a material that enables sound from the region exterior to the installation within the host building to penetrate into the panel and be at least partially absorbed by the sound absorbing materials there within. The rear surface may also be comprised of material that enables sound from the installation region to penetrate into the panel and be at least partially absorbed by the sound absorbing materials within the panel. Alternatively, the rear surface may be comprised of a sound-reflecting material that reflects sound, so that sound from the installation region cannot penetrate into the region exterior to the installation within the host building. Ventilation passages may be formed through one or more of the panels to enable air to pass through when such ventilation is required or desirable.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the disclosure provided herein may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.